Apparatus for obtaining liquid hydrocarbons.



E. SC

HILL.

APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING LIQUID HYDROCARBONS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE l. 19I4.

Patented June 8, 1915.

WIM/8858 WFM HEATER PENTAN: canbsnsezn WATER GASOLINE FENTANE IN VEN TOR.EMIL SCHILL /I TTOR/VEYS .UNTTED -sTAT'Es PATENT oTTrcE.

EMIL "SCHILL, OF-NEW YORK, 'N'. Y., -ASSIGNOR TO G O'N'IINENTALGASJGMPRESSING CORPORATION, AOORPORATION 'OFgNEW`YO-BK.

l PPAR/Amos rosa yon'rnrurrrcr :LIQUID vrumnocnnnorrfs.

10 all whom tmaz/ concern:

Be it known ,that I, EMIL SGHILL, a 'citizen of Wurttemberg, Germany,and a resident of New York city, New York, l have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Apparatus for lObtaining Liquid Hydrocarbons,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to apparatus adapted to be employed inthe recovery in isolated liquid form of yhydrocarbons of the methaneseries and it is Vparticularly adapted to the production of gasolenefrom casing head gases, or gases having a similar panying drawing whichrepresentsa ,top

view of the plant. A

In the drawing A represents the compressor and B the belt that drivesit.

C C are the steam lcylinders which communicate with the compressioncylinders D D.

E represents the pipe communicating with the source of supply such, forexample, as

the head of an oil well, or of a storagetank or pipe line. The mixedgases which com pose this supply enter the tank F through the pipe E.The tank Fis a cleaning tank and the gases entering it at the topdeposit therein rust, oils, water, etc., such vas are readily separatedby gravity. The 'gases thus comparatively purified pass from the tank Fthrough pipe G to the meter M, the function of which is Ato measure thequantity i of gases which are'subsecluently compressed in the cylindersD, D. The gases first enter thelow pressure cylinder D Aand are mettherein by a heat abssorbing agent, such as glycerin, in the conditionof very iine minute subdivision, which enters the cylinder through anatomizing nozzle supplied through the pipe line L. The heat absorb-ySpecication of Letters fPatent.

Application led June 1, 1914. Serial No.18425055.

Patented June 8, 11915.

ing agent must `enter thecylinder in a very iinelyatomized form, ,suchasspray or mist.

Glycerinumay ,be u sedasthe heat absorbing medium .but l may employ anumber of other agents which have shown satisfactory results for-mypurposes. Anyagent willbe satisfactory lso long as yit has the' qualityof absorbing water, of being a goodconductor of heat,.of,havinglubricating qualities and the .property of chemical ,neutrality withrespect tothe products under treatment and the .machinerythrough whichit passes. It should .also be constant in chemical respects; even athigh temperatures and should have a high .speciiic heat, a high specificweight, a high boiling point and the capacity of being .readilyseparated from water sothat the agent `may be used over and over again.I lhave used with good results commercial glucose, turkeymethyleneglycol.

After .the gases have been compressedin the low -pressure cylinder D,they are -conveyed vby means ofthe connection shown in the dottedlinesto the high pressure cylinder D', thls connection being preferablylocated below the .apparatus shown. The cylinder D 1s termed a high.pressure cylinder as compared wlth the cylinder D, although thepressure employed :in my apparatusin the cylinder D is materially lessthan the pressure which has been employed in connection with 'processesAfor compression of natural gases. A pressure of 250 pounds in thiscylinder issuiiicient to bring about commercial vresults and even lowrpressures may be pressure and the temperature' used. The' should produceconditions such that the yhydrocarbon gases still remain in theirgaseous form. The heat absorbingv agent removes from those gases theVVwater contained inYY them in the form of an aqueous vapor and also thewater-soluble vimpurities such as vllHw Hz-S and .'others, as well asheavier products such as tar. The heat generated red oil, glycerin, andtri-.

by compression is not transferred to the gases, by reason, apparently 0fthe intermolecular ,lubrication which/seems to take place; to someextent the heat of compression is also directly absorbed by theglycerin.In the high pressure `cylinder D', the gases are subjected to such adegree Vof pressure as is required toreduce them to the proper conditionfor further treatment in the remainder of the apparatus and there isalso given to them the necessary power to pass of the glycerin tank J.The pressure in the separator H is suiicient to raise the liquid in thepipe I. From the bottom of the storage tank J the glycerin is carriedthrough the pipes K-L to the spraying nozzles through which it isinjected into each of the compression cylinders in a 'very finelydivided condition. The pipeL during a portion of its length is shown asexternally cooled by the double pipe `water cooler N. The by-pass O isused when the storage tank J is cut out of the system for purposes ofcleaning, reiilling, replacing or repair. From the upper Sart of theseparator H the compressed hyrocarbons pass into the coil condenser Pwhich may be cooled by the expanded gases in the manner which will bedescribed later. The object ofthe condenser P is to liquefy the majorportion of the hydrocarbon gases. The condensates and unliqueied gasespass through the pipe marked with an arrow from the bottom of thecondenser P into the top of the collecting tank Q.

Dry uncondensed gases are forced through the pipe R into the compoundsteam cylinders C C', where such pressure as they may be under will beconverted into work.l These gases as they leave the compound cylinders'C C expand intoh the separator S where such oils or lubricants as theymay have gathered will be removed from them. The expansion of thesegases at this point following the conversion of their pressure into workdevelops a very material reduction in temperature. The cooled gasesleave the separator S through the pipe S. The relief valve T may be usedin starting the apparatus so that .the gas englne shall not.

work against the load. The relief valve T l is closed as soon as thepressure is properly .through the pipe 5. The

developed.

To, return to that stage of the process in which the condensed gases aregathered in the collecting tank Q: The liquid leaves the bottom of thattank through pipe 1 through which it is carried into the condenser 2.The condenser 2 is constructed in the form of a surface condenser beingsupplied with hot water, through the. pipe 3 which leaves the condenserat 4. The temperature of the water is so regulated that the liquid shallbe heated to .the desired temperature, say 60 C. The liquid or gasolenewhich is not vaporized inthe condenser 2 is withdrawn ases which arevaporized by this treatment ln'the condenser 2 leave the condenserthrough the pipe 6 and pass into the bottom of the coil condenser 7. Theliquid condensed the coil condenser 7 leaves through the pipe 8 at thebottom of the coil condenser and from the pipe 8 the liquid is directlycollected in steel cylinders or tanks in a well known manner and underconditions which exclude the admittance of atmospheric air or pressure.-Un- ,condensed gases may be drawn oif through pipe 28.

he cooling temperature required in the condenser 7, which forconvenience may be designated asy the pentane condenser, as well is thatrequired for the coil condenser P, which may be called the gasolenecondenser is supplied by the system itself in the following manner: Theuncondensed dry gases still under the pressure imparted to the systemleave the collecting tank Q through the pipe 9 which communicates withthe pipe R and thus through the compound cylinders C C and the oilseparator S. As' above described the gases leavel the separator Spassing into the pipe 10, being now extremely cold and apart of this gasmay be conveyed through the pipe 11 to the gas engine which drives thebelt B. The cold gases otherwise flow onward through the pipe 1'0 to thecross-T 12. The gas is divided and a part of it passes into the toppofthe pentane condenser 7. The'balance of the cooled gas is conveyed bymeans of the pipe 13 into the bottom of the coil in the gasolenecondenser P leaving the same at the topl through pipe 14, into thecross-T 15 from which they emerge from the system through` the pipe 16.In the cross-T 15 these cold again metered and employed for industrialpurposes especially where they contain very volatile noncondensableconstituents such as methane.' y

For the purpose of producing the pentanes in a condition of greaterrefinement there may be more than one pentane condenser included withinthe system with suitable temperature control for each. For the purposeof this invention, it is not material, that all of the liquefiableconstituents of the gas be liquefied in the condenser P so long as thepentane is liquefied while in the form of a separated gas, by which I-mean a gas which is no longer in admixture with the original gase in theoriginal proportions. For examp e, the pentane becomes a separated gasas soon as a part, or all, of the gasolene is withdrawn from the com- Insuch cases where the production of pen-l tanes is of particularimportance, the starting material, instead of being casing head gasesmay be natural petroleum containing pentanes. In suchcases care shouldbe taken not to permit the volatilization of the pentanes during theircollection and further treatment. By^heating such petroleum to say 70C., a certain variety of hydrocarbons, in-

cluding pentanes are driven ofl` and pass through the above describedapparatus until they are liqueed. With liquid mixtures of this characterthe volatilization of the low boiling ingredients is retarded and thetemperature may be advantageously increased to secure a more nearlyquantitative yield. The ultimate liquid obtained in` this way consistssubstantially of pentanes, but is likely to contain a proportion of itsnearest homologues. It is essential from whatever source the .pentanesare produced that they shall be filled into steel cylinders or the likedirectly from the apparatus described and that the cylinders shall beimmediately sealed and protected against the admissio-nr of air,after'which the contents may be directly used for further industrialprocesses, or may be further isolated for fractional distillation, orotherwise, as above described,

' provided always that such further isolation treatments take place in aclosed system, excluding atmospheric air.

The apparatus, as above described, is in the form of a closed systemwhich involves the compression of gas in the presence of a finelydivided heat absorbing medium and a withdrawal of that medium fromthecompressed gases. Commercial gasolene is continuously recovered atone endof the system; pentane or a similar fraction continuously at asecond point and methane or permanent gases continuously at a thirdpoint.

What I claim is:

1. The combination of a compressor vfor compressing natural gas mixturescontaining gasolene, pentane and methane, an injecting nozzlecommunicating with the interior of said compressor adapted for theinjection of a finely divided liquid, a collector a condenser withinwhich the gasolene is liquefied, a second condenser within which thepentane is liquefied while in the'form of a separated gas, pipes passingthrough each of said condensers thereby dividing each of them into twoseparate passages, pipe connections for -introducing the pentane as aseparated gas into the pentane condenser and means .for causingexpansion of the separated methane component of the compressed gases andfor drawing the cold expanded methane through one of the two separatedpassages in each ofthe two condensers above named while the gas to besubjected to the action of the cold methane traverses the other passagesof said two condensers.

2. The combination of a compressor for compressing natural gas mixturescontaining gasolene, pentane and methane, an injecting nozzlecommunicating with the interior of said compressor adapted for theinjection of a finely divided liquid, a collector to receive liquidconstituents of the compressed gases as theyleave the compressor, acondenser within which the gasolene is liqueied, a second condenserwithin which the pentane is liquefied while in the form of a separatedgas, pipes Ipassing through each of` said condensers thereby dividingeach of them into two separate passages, pipe connections forintroducing the pentane as a separated gas into the pentane condenser,means for causing expansion of the separated methane component of thecompressed gases and for drawing the cold expanded passages in each ofthe two condensers above named while the gas to be subjected to theyaction of the cold methane traverses. the other passages of said twocondensers, and means forv separately drawing off gasolene, pentane andmethane without'interrupting the operation of any of the foregoingapparatus, the entire apparatus above named, except for the drawing 0Echannels, being arranged to form a closed system.

3. The combination of a compressor for compressing natural gas mixturescontaining gasolene, pentane and methane, an inj cting nozzlecommunicating with the interi r of said compressor adapted for theinjection of a finely divided liquid, a collector to receive liquidconstituents ofthe compressed gases as they leave the compressor, acondenser within which the gasolene is liquefied, a second condenserwithin which the pentane is liquefied while in the formof a separatedgas, pipes passing through each of said condensers thereby dividing eachof them into two separate passages, pipe con-- for permitting themethane to expand and for conducting the expanded methane' through oneof the separated passages of each ofthe above mentioned two condenserswhile the gas to be subjected to the action of the cold expanded methanetraverses the otherbpassage of said condensers.

4. lThe combination of acompressor for compressing natural gasmiXturescontaining gasolene, pentane and methane, an injecting. nozzlecommunicating with the interior of said compressor adapted for theinjection of a nely divided liquid, a collector to receive liquidconstituents of the compressed gases as they leave the compressor, acondenser within which the gasolene is liqueiied, a second condenserwithin which the pentane is liquefied while in the form of a separatedgas, each of said two collectors consisting yof two separated 'passagesso ar-v ranged that one should be subject to temperature conditions inthebther, pipe connections for vintroducing the pentane as a separatedgas into the pentane condenser and means for causing expansion of theseparated methane component of the com-4 pressed gases and for drawingthe cold eX-V hand -in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

. EMIL SCI-IILL.

Witnesses: l A FRITZ ZIEGLER, J r., t R. ABERLL

